Once we finished lunch we reviewed our options. We could stay in town and tour Hall's Croft (the house where Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah lived with her husband), or we could walk the 2 mile walk to Shottery to see Anne Hathaway's cottage. We knew there was no way we could make it to Mary Arden's farm, so we didn't even put that into the equation. We all voted on the walk to Anne Hathaway's cottage.
It was a beautiful day, and we were all in good spirits! The walk to the cottage is completely paved with signs pointing the way, and so off we went! In some places, the path is very narrow, and you can only walk one at a time. I went last, with Katie right in front of me. She was stretching out her arms, running her fingers along the wooden fences. I said, "Be careful, you don't want to get a splinter." She threw me "the look" and said, "I won't, mom." She dropped her arms and brushed her right arm into some weeds which turned out to be stinging nettle! Instantly her forearm blistered from the wrist to the elbow. She was so brave, though! She didn't want anyone else to know, so she kept quiet and just clutched her arm to her side. We had purchased a bottle of water, and she held that against the blisters as we walked.
Finally, we came to the cottage.
We wandered through the grounds which were gorgeous! The trust has planted a maze a few years ago, and in another 5 or 6 years, it will be a great place to be! There's also a garden where every plant or tree mentioned in Shakespeare's plays has been planted.
The girls posing in a willow "cabin" like Shakespeare mentions in "Twelfth Night."
They still thatch the roof of the cottage, and have an exhibit set up showing how it is done. Surprisingly, it's very similar today as it was hundreds of years ago. It is incredibly expensive, though. Thatching a roof today would cost upwards of 10,000 dollars American. We went through the cottage, and again had a very conversational docent. It was interesting to learn that this cottage has been in the Hathaway family up until the early 1950's when the family sold it to the Shakespeare trust. So, most of the furnishings are original to the house. Including a canopy bed said to be Anne's. Tourists during the 1800's were told about a "courting bench" that Will was said to sit on with Anne while they were courting. The owner, who consented to give tours, would allow tourists to carve pieces of the bench off the legs as a souvenir. However, after the Trust purchased the house, they dated the bench at 1750. There's no way Shakespeare ever sat on the bench, but what an enterprising owner, huh?
We spent a bit of time (and a lot of money) in the gift shop. Katie and I went to the bathroom so she could wash her arm and see if that helped. Nope! She was still in pain, but determined not to show it. She was doing so well, no one even noticed anything was wrong.
As we began our walk back to Stratford, we crossed a small river and found a family of ducks, just resting on the bank.
We watched them until they all went into the water. It was so cute! We waited on a bridge that we decided would be perfect for a game of Pooh sticks. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any sticks, so we pressed on towards Stratford. The walk back seemed to take less time. As we entered Stratford, we realized that it was after 5:00 so we wouldn't be able to see more than the outside of Hall's Croft.
This was where Susannah lived with her husband John. It is a really large house. He was a doctor, and well respected in the community. After Shakespeare died, Susannah and John moved into New Place with Anne, but kept their own home for John's practice.
Since it wasn't yet 6:00, we decided to see if we could get into Trinity church. Luckily, the church is just across the street from Hall's Croft.
Part of the cemetery. It's so old, and creepy! Very cool!
We were in luck! Trinity was still open, and so we went in. We paid our fee, and were told we could take as many pictures as we wanted! Hooray!!!
So, here you go:
Katie by Shakespeare's grave
Shakespeare's grave complete with curse: "Good friend for Jesus' sake forebear to dig the dust enclosed here. Blest be the man that spares these stones, and curst be he that moves my bones."
Anne's grave
Grave of Thomas Nash, Shakespeare's grandson-in-law
Grave of John Hall, Shakespeare's son-in-law
Grave of Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah Hall
Shakespeare's corner in Trinity Church
Font that is original to the church. It is believed that Shakespeare was baptized in this font. On the wall to the left are copies of the register that show Shakespeare's birth and death.
While we were looking around, the docent informed us that he was going to lock up, but we should feel free to look around. He would let us out when we were ready. It was really cool to be there!
Once we were done, we wandered along the Avon river toward the theater complex. We had some fun watching the swans, and the rowers on the river.
Main theater of the RSC. I wish we could have seen a show here, but it was not to be!
We still had a couple of hours before our train ride back to London, so we decided dinner was in order. As we walked along, we could smell fish and chips. They smelled heavenly, but we couldn't find anywhere that sold them! Finally, we stopped some people who were carrying fish and chips in take away, and they gave us directions. We got to the place, and it was a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant. There was a window for take away, or you could go in and sit at tables. In we went! We all ordered fish and chips and sat down to eat.
This was huge but incredibly delicious! Katie and I split a dinner and we couldn't finish!!! At first Katie wanted tartar sauce, but I told her that when you are in England, you eat like the English. We smothered the fish and chips in malt vinegar, and the girl was in heaven! She even said it was better than the Cornish pasty! We ate slowly and people watched until it was time to head back to the train station.
We were early for the train, so the girls spent some time writing post cards and just looking through the photos we had taken today. The train came, and off we went. The 2 hours zipped by, and we were back in London by 10:00 p.m.
It was a fabulous day! I put some cream on Katie's arm, and off we went to bed.
We don't have any plans for the weekend other than my plans for sewing and I really want to purchase a new matress.
